Office Management

 

Office Management comprises two words; “Office and Management”. What does the words Office and Management means? The word “Office” can be perceived or explained differently by people or individuals. Office is understood to be a physical building where certain activities are performed for an organization. The Oxford Advance Learner’s Dictionary defined Office as; “a room, set of rooms or building where people work, usually sitting at desks.” Office from the dictionary definition refers to room/s and desks. Thus without any person sitting at the desk, the office is just a physical structure. A small or larger building without any human occupation and human activity is just a physical structure or space. Such a physical structure may be given names to suit the activity that would be taking place inside this space. Once a name is given and attached to the physical building infrastructure, the building space takes meaning. For example; a building named a classroom can be immediately identified as a space that will housed students. Students make the building come alive due to the learning activities that take place in the classroom building. Similarly an office space will only come alive when it is occupied by people or individuals who are involved with certain activities.

Roles and Purpose of an Office

Offices have personalities of its own and are a reflection of the purpose for which an office is created. Most offices spaces are set up for different activities and purposes and reflect the nature of work being carried out with the aim of achieving organizational goals and objectives. In organizing a new office, the person in charge of the office known as the Office Manager must add the necessary ingredients to bring about an efficient operating entity to achieve predetermine results. Most activities within an office are almost the same such as processing of income mails and outgoing mail to ensure that the income mails are being recorded and who is responsible in auctioning the mail. Such activity is done to ensure mails are action and processed by the right person. Dictation, typing and printing require people who are able to carry out such activities effectively and efficiently. Communication, answering telephone calls and ensuring appointment are made for managers. Record keeping and record disposal, filing and many other important activities. It can be said that an office is the engine room of any organization. Without an office space, all the office activities cannot be coordinated and processed effectively. Office space or office buildings are important for the following purpose; it is a place where records of the business are preserved and safely kept. It is a place where all mails both income and outgoing are processed. It is a place where the organization’s policies are formulated, discussed and implemented. The purpose of having an office is also to direct and coordinate the activities of various departments and to maintain accounts, statutory and non-statutory books and files of the organization. Given all the activities that are being conducted within an office, businesses and organization may realize that without an office, an organization cannot operate effectively and efficiently.

Office spaces that are set up within a building takes into considerations the various roles played by various individuals and here are few examples.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) - The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is the highest ranking officer within an organization. As such he or she will have an office that reflects the role they play in the organization. The CEO role or primary activities is the management of the overall operations, making major corporate decisions, provides the important communication link between Board of Directors and other corporate stakeholders. Understanding the CEO important roles his or her office would be set up differently from other offices within the organization.

Administration, Finance and Personal Department - The office of the Administration and Personal department have an important role to play in ensuring that the human resources of the organization and all its departments are occupied by skilled and qualified people. The personal department ensures that employees record are well maintained, recruitment and training take place and the wellbeing of employees are taken care of in term of working conditions, wages and salaries and other important issues. The office is also where employees bring their grievances. In most cases the personal department is also the main communication point on staff matters to the management team of the organization.

Production Department - The office of the Production department will have individuals whose activities are concerned with the production of goods and services produced by the organization. The workers working in the production department depend on the production office for their required resources to continue the activities. The department is to ensure their clients and customers satisfied and happy. Individuals who works in the production department provides services such as purchase orders, meeting the supplier demands on time and making sure correspondences, filing and records, market research and many other activities are maintained and functioning as expected.   

Sales and Marketing Department - The office of the Sales and Marketing department have individuals whose main activities deals with sales and marketing, logistics, promotions and distributions and individual working within the office ensure resources is available to carry out activities within their department.  

Definition of MANAGEMENT

There are various definitions provided by different authors. Mary Parker Follett defined management as: “as the art of getting things done through people”. Pearce and Robinson Management, McGraw-Hill 1984 p.4 provided the following definition: “management is the process of optimizing human, material and financial contributions for the achievement of organizational goals.” The Oxford Advanced Learner’ Dictionary defined management as follows: ‘the act of running and controlling a business or similar organization.” From the given definition, the following aspects of management are noted;

Management deals with external and internal environment of an organization. Management is also concerned with all kind of resources such as human resources, financial resources, materials, and assets. Management is ensuring that organizational goals and objectives are achieved through the use of people. Management is making sure plans and strategies are executed and carried out through activities performed by various departments, business units of the organization as determined by managers. Management is providing directions and controls of the people activities within the organization. By analyzing the term management, students may be able to understand the management functions and how individuals in management position perform their roles. Management functions includes; planning, organizing, staffing, directing and controlling.

Planning involves the following; is the determination of a course of action to achieve a desired result. Planning concentrates on setting and achieving. Planning is an intellectual process and is the process of thinking before doing. Planning precedes all other managerial functions and deciding in advance what is to be done. Planning involves projecting the future course of action for the business and is essentially choosing, depends upon the availability of alternatives.

Organizing involves the following; bringing together the human and material resources for the achievement of certain objectives. Organizing is the foundation upon which the whole structure of management is built. Organizing is determining, grouping and arranging activities necessary for achieving the objectives and assigning of people to these activities. Organizing is providing suitable environmental situation and indicating the relative authority delegated for the execution of the activity. 

Staffing Is concerned with recruitment, selection, placement and training and development. Staffing is a function that deals with human resource needs of the organization and ensuring qualified and skilled individuals are recruited to perform the required activities of the organization. Staffing is now in a new a function of Personnel Management which is currently Human Resource Management.

Directing is the managerial function of guiding, inspiring, instructing and harnessing people towards the accomplishment of desired results. It is the process which actuates the members of an organization to work efficiently and effectively for achievement of desired goals.

Office Management

The two terms “Office Management” means the method of controlling an office to enable it achieve its objective. In modern society, all kinds of business are performed by a group of knowledgeable people working for a common goal and is guided and control by a leader or authority. Management is a technique of leadership or control to achieve an objective through the efforts of other people. The office must be organized in a way to achieve the objective of the business.